Project Super agent
by Shadowspeed2020
Summary: When MI6 find four kids inside a gem, they make a discovery that completely bewilders them. Using it to their advantage,they create a team of the four super-powered kids,creating the last thing any enemy will ever imagine possible
1. Prologue

"This is...incredible. I didn't think anything like this could exist," said one of the lab workers. He was staring into a tank full of fluid. In the fluid, there was a person. The person looked about thirteen, with eyes a deep blue like the ocean. He had been found wearing a blue T-shirt, blue jeans and white, Ben Sherman trainers. The noticeably strange thing was that his hair was blue, spiked to look like Sonic the Hedgehog. Another strange thing was, he had spikes, similar to Sonic the Hedgehog, on his back. To anyone who looked at him, he was Sonic the Hedgehog in human form, almost a splitting image.

To the left, another identical tank contained a young girl about the same age. She had deep, green eyes, almost emerald green. She had been found, with the others, in a purple T-shirt, with uniquely white jeans, almost the same colour as snow. She wore white trainers with a thin, pink stripe running around it. Her hair was a fair colour, almost light brown with noticable purple stripes and reached her shoulders. When the scientists took a DNA sample, they found the boy and girl were twins.

To the right of the boy, there was another identical tank, containing another boy. He looked to be the same age, if not older. He was found wearing a strange black T-shirt, with black jeans. He wore strange black trainers with a red stripe running around it. He had strange, red eyes, almost blood-red, and even had hair as black as night. He also had it spiked like Shadow the Hedgehog, even down to the stripes being coloured red. Upon closer inspection, his true form appeared to be hidden, with no way to reveal it.

In the final tank, a girl with strange hair as white as snow. She had violet hue eyes, with her hair reaching about her shoulders too. She wore a black T-shirt, with combat trousers and white trainers with a black stripe in the middle. She looked the same age as the others, but had a strange crescent shaped scar facing left, looking like the moon. There was one thing all four had in common. They all had power that, when measured, almost broke all of the examination instruments.

As the scientist looked at all four tanks, a grey haired man with skin almost as grey entered. He wore glasses, and wore a suit, looking like a businessman. He walked over to the scientist, commenting "I see you're interested in these four. But please tell me, who are they, and how were they found." The scientist turns to reply "These four were found in some kind of gem, almost as if they were fossils. They appear to have been in there for a few months, going by the age of the gem itself. However, it appears as if they...they...don't exist." The man raises an eyebrow "What do you mean, "don't exist", I can see them for myself." The scientist replies "What I meant sir is that they aren't in any database. They have no records. They may have been deleted, or they were never there. And before you ask, I checked every database. Fingerprints, photo ID, DNA samples, nothing."

The man turns to the four tanks, fascinated by how, even after being inside a gem, these four children still lived, and were in perfect health. He looked closer at the one who looked like Sonic the Hedgehog, seeing something on the back of his hand. He turned to the scientist "What's this thing on the boy's hand," and the scientist replies "It looks like some kind of symbol. It isn't a tattoo, or any other man-made marking. Maybe it's a birthmark." The man turns to check the other three, commenting "Your tests showed they had power?" and the scientist replies "Well, there were no recent power surges to break the equipment, so I think they may have powers beyond our understanding. Think they might be useful to us." The man says "Oh yes. Very useful indeed," and starts to leave.


	2. Classified information

Opening classified files...

Accessing data...

ID approved. Opening files.

Profile for Agent Highspeed-The appointed leader of G.U.N's special team of agent children. Highspeed is the fastest runner, able to run faster than the current record holder, and a powerful telekinetic. He's mostly a good leader, but prefers to improvise on a mission rather than follow a pre-arranged plan of action. After he worked with MI6 for a while, Smithers designed special shoes to increase his running speed to twice as fast as any car's top speed. He's trained in different fighting styles, but prefers to run through his enemies rather than fight one-on-one. His personality traits are similar to that of Sonic the Hedgehog, being that he is carefree and sometimes a little reckless. However, this doesn't stop him leading his team to many mission successes. He also has great respect for Agent Alex Rider.

Profile for Agent Nightbird-The twin sister to Highspeed, Nightbird is more serious than her brother, always trying to stick to the main plan and the job in hand. She is pyrokinetic, meaning she has the power to control fire and even has the power of flight, through boots Smithers made her, allowing her to channel her flame powers for flight or for speed. When on a mission, Nightbird is able to hack into any security system or computer, making her a master analyst. On missions, she prefers gathering information on the enemy first hand, rather than read a report on them. She sometimes takes over as leader when Highspeed has his hands full, being able to think back to previous missions for solutions to present problems. She isn't trained in as many fighting styles as her brother, but instead can combine her flame powers with fighting styles she knows, making her a deadly force. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, even to people like Alan Blunt.

Profile for Agent Nightshade-The main fighter for the team, Nightshade has telekinesis and a normal physique hides a degree of super strength. Though sometimes a little sarcastic, Nightshade is the second most secretive of the team, mainly keeping things to herself or between her and Agent Shadowspeed. She still enjoys herself when she has free time, normally listening to her favourite music. She is trained in many fighting styles, normally using telekinesis to block attacks or paralyse her opponent. She has many small bruises, caused when she tries to use telekinesis to levitate herself and constantly crash landing, and small scars, indicating she's been in many battles.

Profile for Agent Shadowspeed-The ninja of the team, Shadowspeed is the second fastest of the team, relying on air shoes Smithers made him to move silently on the ground or in the air. He's the most secretive of the team, and, even though he's confided many things to Nightshade, no-one knows much about him. He prefers it that way, knowing that if his friends don't know much about him, his enemies will know much less. His main power's focus on channelling strange energy into power spears or into hand-held or projectile weapons. As he is the second fastest of the team, he and Highspeed have a rivalry seen in characters like Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog. He doesn't let it get in the way, normally being able to go on solo missions without hesitation.

Symbols-On each of the four agents, strange symbols have been found on the back of their hands. They are as follows: Agent Highspeed-a strange gem like symbol, Agent Nightbird-a sun like symbol, Agent Nightshade-a strange moon shaped symbol identical to her scar, Agent Shadowspeed-a star symbol. What these symbols mean is unknown, but they may be connected to some strange symbols found at certain archaeological sites across the globe. They appear linked to something called "the five gatekeepers" and a legendary civilisation that is said to exist in the depths of time. Though completely impossible, there may be some truth behind it.


	3. In flames and snow

A cold, moonlit night. High up in the mountains, a group of Scorpia agents were testing new weapons, mainly new types of sniper rifle for their assassins. They had many experimental Scorpia security robots at their disposal. There was a small army of them at the only entrance to the base. Clearly it looked like no-one would be able to break in.

As one of the agents, codenamed Deathwing, looked over the rifle in his hands, he admired the work that went into it. It was light enough to be carried by someone of fifteen, but could hit its target from a building top. He got ready to fire at the practice target, looking through the eyepiece, seeing thin, blurred lines that were the cross-hairs. He aimed at the centre of the target, and pulled the trigger. He felt a small jolt as the bullet left the barrel, then, a half-second later, heard the bullet hit the target. He put the rifle down, allowing his comrades to try it. He watched as his comrade took a shot, hitting the target a little above the bulls-eye. Deathwing thought to himself "_These rifles are one of the few weapons that I've actually hit a bulls-eye with. Most other weapons are a little clumsy."_ He looked to the table, before noticing the sound of the robots moving. He looked over to his comrade, but an alarm sounded, with a pre-recorded message over the intercom _"Intruder detected outside compound. All available robots move to entrance gate."_ Deathwing said to himself "Lets test these bad boys" and grabbed one of the rifles.

Outside the compound, the small army of security robots, moved forward through the snow, looking into the trees. A second later, Deathwing had appeared on the main guard tower, clutching his rifle, aiming into the trees. If anything came out of them, he'd shoot it down. The alarm had stopped, and, apart from the occasional robot taking a step forward, all was silent. Everyone started to think it was a false alarm, releasing their grip on their weapons. As Deathwing moved his finger away from the trigger, the intruder made a sudden appearance.

As sudden as an explosion, something fast moved out of the trees. The robots raised their weapons and fired, but none of the bullets hit the target. The intruder reached into his pocket, producing small, marble like objects. He smiled smugly, dashing between the lines of robots and dropping the objects to either side of him. He stopped momentarily, a robot blocking his path. He jumped on the robot, and then jumped over the wall. As he landed and stood up, the objects he dropped exploded, wiping out the robot army. He chuckled a little to himself, quietly saying "Well that was just _too _easy."

A searchlight shone towards him. He ducked into the shadows, crouching behind some supply crates. He was wearing a blue ski jacket, blue jeans and white Ben Sherman trainers. His hair had streaks of ocean blue, mainly where it spiked to look like Sonic the Hedgehog. Everything about him showed he was fast. He tapped his wristband, which flipped up to reveal a communicator. On the small screen, there was an image of a girl with long, brownhair with purple stripesand emerald green eyes. She looked about the same age. She looked a little less than pleased, saying with a small trace of anger in her voice "We asked for a distraction, not fireworks. You really know how to overdo it Highspeed." Highspeed replied, with a sense of slight overconfidence "At least I made sure there was no-one in the control room. But I don't think they'll be gone for much longer. How are you guys doing?" He said the last two sentences seriously, starting to tense himself, ready to run as a searchlight passed a little too close for comfort.

The girl, codenamed Nightbird, answered Highspeed's question with the same tone of seriousness "Nightshade's standing near the door in case they come back before we're done, I'm busy downloading these weapon schematics, and I don't know where the heck Shadowspeed is. I think you should get down here fast, in case someone comes back," and with that, cancels the transmission. As the searchlight passes again, Highspeed waits another two seconds, knowing he has to move soon. He runs across the compound, barely passing the searchlight without detection.

He ducked behind a wall, looking around the corner to see to guards, both carrying what looked like machine guns, and they both looked experienced enough to use them without hesitation. Highspeed ducked back, realising he couldn't get past them without a bullet hitting him. He was about to call Nightshade and ask for back-up, but he felt a wind brush past him. He looked back to the guards, who were now running in his direction. He prepared to run, but watched as the guards didn't notice him. He looked straight in front of him, seeing someone who, where Highspeed looks like Sonic the Hedgehog, looked like Shadow the Hedgehog. He watched as the guards ran over to him, weapons drawn, but as they reached the person's position, he suddenly disappeared. As the guards looked around, one of them took a blow to the back. He fell forward, landing in the snow. The second guard looked around, seeing a shadow in the searchlight. He prepared to fire, but felt something behind him.

He turned around, noticing Highspeed standing there. He prepared to fire and just as his finger touched the trigger, he crumpled, falling forward with the weapon firing. The person behind him, Shadowspeed, stepped over the unconscious guard. He walked over to Highspeed, commenting "Nightbird's finished up here. We're ready to go," and continued to the two girls running over to them. Highspeed stepped forward; asking "So, are we ready to roll out?" Everyone nods, grabbing something that was strapped to their backs. They laid them down on the ground, stepping onto them before small jets of air lifted the board-like object off the ground. As they fly over the complex walls, Highspeed looks to Nightbird, and she pulls out a button. As they fly into the night, Deathwing looks up at them, ignoring the explosion from the main building. He mutters to himself "If MI6 think sending in children will scare us, they have another thing coming," and walks away.


	4. The second last school day

**This story leads up to Eagle Strike, and tells the story from a different perspective. Hope you enjoy.**

Lunch time. Nothing much happens at school except the occasional bully getting a little out of hand. Today, there was nothing to set it apart from any other day. Today, there would be a big surprise for someone, and it was just around the corner.

As Highspeed sat with Shadowspeed, Nightbird and Nightshade, he couldn't take his eyes away from the empty seat. Normally there were five of them, and the fifth person was Alex Rider. Restless, Highspeed started drumming the table with his fingers. He was bored, since the most exciting thing that had happened was that Adam Young had threatened to get him at lunchtime. He was really looking forward to it, to see the look on Adam's face when he ran around the school and ran straight into him. The thought of it made him laugh a little, getting a "_shut up and eat_" look from Nightshade. He may have been appointed leader of the team, but he rarely acted like it in school.

Nightbird, Shadowspeed and Nightshade got up, leaving Highspeed alone to finish his lunch. He ate slowly, hoping to keep Adam waiting. He looked up to see Scarlett Adams sitting alone. Highspeed started to feel a little less hungry. He really liked Scarlett, even though she never even noticed him. He took another bite of his sandwich, wondering if Scarlett actually noticed him sometimes. He felt something hit his head. He looked on the floor, seeing a small paper ball lying there, then looked up to see someone at a nearby table snigger. He wondered if he should throw it back at him, picking it up. He turned around to see Scarlett standing in front of him. He almost dropped the paper ball, quickly putting it in his pocket. Scarlett looked at him for a few seconds through deep, beautiful green eyes. There was silence for a moment, then Scarlett said "Hi...Highspeed," and Highspeed, a little jittery, said "Hi...Scarlett." Scarlett asked him "Um...would you want to...go to the pier with me tomorrow." Highspeed, trying to find confidence, answered nervously "Uh...yes, I think I could come." Scarlett started to walk away, saying "I'll see you there at eight," and went to find her friends. Highspeed watched her as she walked away, then felt another paper ball hit him in the back of the head. He pulled out the other paper ball from his pocket and picked up the second. He casually walked past the table, then, threw both paper balls at the boy who threw them in the first place. They both hit him on the back of the head, but by the time he'd turned round, Highspeed was already halfway to the playground.

He found Adam on the football pitch, taking practice penalties. He walked over, calling "I think you wanted to see me," and Adam turns round and walks over to him. He says smugly "You're late Highspeed. I guess you're going to get a little extra." Highspeed stopped right in front of Adam, waiting for Adam to take a swing. As his fist came millimetres away from Highspeed's chest, Highspeed seemed to vanish. Adam, completely surprised looked around, seeing everyone but Highspeed. He was about to turn round, when someone behind him shouted "BOO!" Adam jumped and saw Highspeed laughing like there was no tomorrow. He was about to hit Highspeed, but he noticed everyone else had started laughing too. Embarrassed, he walked away with what little dignity he had.

As Highspeed started to calm down, someone sneaked up behind him, slapping him in the back of the head. Highspeed stopped laughing and turned to see Nightbird standing behind him, a serious look in her eye. Highspeed rubbed the back of his head, while Shadowspeed and Nightshade came up behind him. Nightshade, who had seen what Highspeed had done to Adam, tried to say through her laughter "You'll be in trouble next year when Adam see's you again," and Shadowspeed turns to Nightbird "You really know how to take all the fun." Highspeed turns to him "You really know how to rub it in." Shadowspeed comments "I'm not the one doing the rubbing," and Nightbird lets out a little laugh. Highspeed mumbles to himself "Man, for a ninja you sure talk a lot," and starts heading for class, with the others not far behind.


	5. New assignments

A first date is always something to get excited about. Sometimes you don't know what to do, and other times you just forget everything. Much to the dismay of Shadowspeed, Nightshade and Nightbird, Highspeed did neither of these things.

As they walked through the streets back to the old, abandoned apartment block they called home, Shadowspeed's fists were constantly clenched, waiting for Highspeed to shut up. He knew all about the date, mainly because Highspeed spilled the details out like a waterfall. As they came up to a street corner, Highspeed was suddenly quiet. Everyone looked around the corner to see someone running towards them. He ran into Shadowspeed, almost knocking him over. He looked down the street the boy had been running, seeing a taller, muscular looking man coming towards him. Highspeed, Nightshade and Nightbird had run for cover, leaving Shadowspeed standing there. He faced the oncoming attacker, ready to jump. As the man took his next step, Shadowspeed made his move.

The attacker looked up to see a streak of black above him as Shadowspeed leapt over him. He landed right behind him, striking with a backward kick. The attacker was taken completely by surprise, falling face down on the ground. As he tried to get up, he turned around, greeted by a glowing black blade right in front of his face. He looked up to see Shadowspeed standing over him, Shadowspeed made the dagger disappear in an instant, making it look as if it was never there. He said with a voice that sounded like a thousand warnings saying "Next time you want trouble, you answer to me," and turns to walk off. As he passes the others, he says "Some help you were," and keeps walking. The three of them look at each other, puzzled expressions on their faces. As they walk on, Highspeed whispers to Nightshade "Anything happen at school we should know about." Nightshade whispers back "Not that I can think of." Highspeed says, a little louder "Well he seems grumpier than usual." From in front, Shadowspeed calls "I heard that!" The rest of the way home passes by in silence.

On arrival, Highspeed heads into his room and looks through his wardrobe, attracting the attention of Nightbird. As she stands by the door, he pulls out a pair of jeans, naturally blue in colour. As he looks up, Nightbird asks "What's wrong with the pair you had on last night?" Highspeed tries to ignore her, taking a few steps away, shutting the door with telekinesis. Nightbird steps back to avoid being hit in the face. She turns to walk away, just as Highspeed opens the door. He answers "The last pair is covered in robot oil from the explosions and wet from the snow." He walks past as Nightbird looks to see his wristbands, one of which was white with a thick, black stripe around the edge and a thin grey stripe beside it, while the other was all black with white skull and crossbones on it. She thought to herself _"Doesn't he ever take those things off,"_ and walks after him.

As they enter the room, Shadowspeed turns to them, as a holographic image of Alan Blunt, head of MI6, started to speak to them._"Greetings agents. As you may know, Alex Rider has been in the South of France for the past few days. Last night, one of the people he was staying with was injured in a bomb blast. He is currently in hospital recovering in a critical condition. Just today at noon, he tried to bring his friend into the MI6 offices, but we kept the fact Royal and General bank is MI6 headquarters from her. Afterwards, Alex went on to say how he suspected __Yassen Gregorovich was hired by singer Damian Cray to kill him. We didn't think this was likely, but as we didn't believe him, he appears to have taken matters into his own hands, travelling to Cray's Gameslayer plant in Amsterdam. If he's determined to find something to link Cray to the bomb blast, then we need you to go there and find out what it might be."_ Highspeed looks to the others, seeing that they're ready to move out. As they leave, Blunt adds _"Agent Shadowspeed! We have a different assignment for you. Please report to my office immediately for your assignment," _and with the message delivered, the image disappears. Shadowspeed heads for the door, looking back saying "Think you guys can handle this mission without a ninja?" Highspeed replies "Well, there's always me, you know, being the fastest among us." As he walks out, Shadowspeed mumbles _"That's encouraging."_

As they fly over the Gameslayer plant, Nightbird looks down, seeing something he was half expecting to see. She looked to the others "Looks like Cray's trying to protect more than a next-gen games console. Scorpia security robots, and if Alex is right, a top class assassin, in the complex." Nightshade, still looking out the window, replies "Let's hope that we don't need a fireworks display for a distraction." Highspeed looks to her, saying "I think Blunt said this was a covert surveillance mission. We won't be hidden very well with half those "clunkers" they call security robots being turned into spare parts." Nightshade looks down again, seeing something out of the corner of her eye. As the plane flies further ahead, she just ignores it, thinking it's nothing.


	6. Mission Success?

It pays to have someone on the team that has contacts in high places. If you're working with Scorpia assassin Yassen Gregorovich, then if something important to your goal is stolen, it's guaranteed to be returned.

As a floodlight shines over nearby trees and bushes, Nightbird uses her stealth suit to keep hidden in the shadows. She hits a button on her wrist, bringing up an image of Highspeed. She speaks in a quiet voice "Looks like security's really tight. Any idea on how to get in." Highspeed replies "Not on me at the moment, working on it right now." As the screen goes blank, Nightbird sighs "Guess I'll do it my way..." and, despite having worked with computers on almost every mission, leaps gracefully over the wall, just barely avoiding detection from the guards. She lands and rolls behind three barrels close to the wall. She brings up the communicator screen, which shows an image of Nightshade. She speaks softly "We've managed to get inside the complex, but it looks like Highspeed's gone off on his own. If you give me your location, I think I can meet you there."

Inside the main building, a few guards walked down the empty corridor, talking about how there was nothing much happening and that there wasn't much point for being there. As they walked past another corridor, they didn't take a second look back to see Highspeed, in his dark blue stealth suit, come out of his hiding place and make his way down the hallway. He kept going, until he found something that caught his eye. On a door, it said "High level clearance only." He looked to see a fingerprint pad with number keys above it. Before he could get a good look at it, someone tapped his shoulder. His heart skipped a beat as he looked behind him, only to see Nightbird and Nightshade behind him. He was about to say something, but Nightbird stepped forward, putting a small wire into the number pad. She was about to hack into it, only to be interrupted by the door opening. Nightbird leapt into the air, stretching her arms to keep her in the ceiling while Nightshade and Highspeed hid in a nearby storage closet.

The technician came out, completely unaware there was anyone watching him. He put his finger on the pad and typed in the pass code, walking away while the door closed. As he turned the corner, Highspeed emerged from hiding, using telekinesis to keep the door open. As Nightshade came out of the storeroom, Nightbird leapt down from her hiding place. As they got through the door, Highspeed allowed the door to close. As he prepared to run, Nightbird asked furiously over the communicator "Why did you let the door close on us? Are you trying to seal us in?" Highspeed answers while running "Well someone has to find Cray's room. Besides, you can break through any security system. Just...copy the fingerprint somehow," and keeps running. Nightbird sighs, walking over to the computer. She looks through the files, trying to find a map of the complex. As the computer brings up the map, she adjusts the computer to track Highspeed's communicator. She finds him, telling him over the communicator where to go. As she directs him to Cray's room, Nightshade tries to copy the technician's fingerprint, using a prototype fingerprint scanner to make a copy.

As Highspeed stops outside Cray's room, he loses the signal from Nightbird. He uses the scanner in his communicator to check if Cray's inside. He finds no-one, using a card to pick the lock. He manages to get in, noticing a file on the desk. He walks over slowly, picking up the file. He then notices a pen drive. He picks it up, seeing it shine in the light. _"Whatever this is, it might have some information on why Scorpia security robots are here,"_ he thinks to himself. He picks up the file, flicking through the pages to find anything about the pen drive. He stops at one of the pages, reading it carefully. He finds what he's looking for, growing both shocked and worried as he reads it. He puts the pen drive into his pocket, and then makes his way to the door. Little does he know, a hidden camera has just captured his every move.

As he meets up with the others, the alarm goes off. As they run along the empty hallway, they see guards outside head for the main gate. As they look around a corner, they see guards come towards them. They run down another hallway, seeing a fire exit. As they open the door, they hear the guards advancing down the hallway after them. As they get out the door, Highspeed and Nightshade use telekinesis to grab nearby guards, throwing them into advancing squads. As they move through the shadows towards the main gate, Nightbird sees the gates close. She then notices barrels with the word "explosive" on the side. She turns to Highspeed, who moves the barrels in front of the gate. As chaos surrounds them, Nightbird closes her eyes, calms her mind, focusing energy inside her towards her hand. As she exhales, she opens her eyes, letting out a blast of flames.

As security robots move past the outside of the gates, an explosion knocks them into the ground, while a fireball consumes the gates. As the robots try to pick themselves off the ground, Highspeed, Nightbird and Nightshade dash through the destroyed gates. They grab their boards off their backs, using them to fly into the night.

Inside Cray's room, Cray and Yassen discuss the events of the previous night. As they get to the part about the pen drive, one of the security guards enters. Cray turns to him, with a voice showing a trace of anger "What have you managed to gather?" The guard speaks up "We managed to find some footage from a secret camera in this room. From the footage, we got a clear image of who stole the pen drive. It appears to be a young boy." Cray and Yassen look at him, which leads the guard to show them the footage. As they watch, Cray asks the guard "You have any information on this boy?" The guard answers "Yes. His name is Highspeed, and he appears to be an MI6 operative." Yassen looks at the boy in the footage, commenting "I've seen him before. He's one of the four who attacked one of our weapon facilities. I think I know how to get the pen drive from him." Cray asks how, and Yassen answers "I had a contact in London tell me something about him. He was meant to keep an eye on him, and found out he really likes this girl from his school." Cray, with an evil smile on his face, asks who it is. Yassen says calmly "A girl called Scarlett Adams."


	7. Capture

As she stood waiting, Scarlett looked out over the ocean that spread before her. Highspeed hadn't been at school that day, and she wondered if he'd make it. She looked over the pier itself, seeing people going about their day, enjoying the beginning of summer. She sighed, looking at her watch. It was almost eight o'clock, and there was no sign of him. She looked back over the water, watching as the sun set over the horizon. As she looked down on the beach, a voice asked "Waiting for someone?" She turned round, seeing a young man, at least twenty, standing behind her. She sighed again "Yeah. A boy I know from school." The man asked "What does he look like?" and Scarlett said "You couldn't miss him. He has blue hair, deep, ocean blue eyes and he only wears blue shirts and jeans." The man says "I think I saw someone like that over in the parking lot on his way here. If you come with me, we might find him." A little hesitant, Scarlett follows him into the parking lot.

As they walk across the car park, the man leads her behind the restrooms. She looks around, seeing nothing. She gets ready to say there's no-one there, but her eyes widen when she sees the man running straight at her. She lashed out by a roundhouse kick, barely hitting him. She gets ready to scream, but can't get it out as the man's hand clamps over her mouth, with the other hand holding her arms behind her back. She tries to break free, but the man keeps her pinned, showing no hope of escape. As she looks round, she sees a van backing towards them. She feels the man moving her forward as the driver and passenger get out. As the two others move in, she manages to kick her captor in the leg, making him let go. She tries to run, but she feels something hit her in the back. Her legs give way, as if they were made of paper, and she falls to the ground. She tries to get up, but can't move her arms. She feels all her strength flow out of her as the men grab her. She sees one of them pull a dart from her back, tossing it in the van. She tries to move, but can't move as they throw her into the van. She lands on a mattress laid down for her, and then watches as the close the doors. She feels the van move away, lying there completely helpless.

As they return from Amsterdam, Highspeed looks over the pen drive, seeing it shine in the setting sun. As they land, Highspeed runs off on his way to the pier. As he runs there, he decides to make a stop at Alan Blunt's office. As he stops outside the Royal and General, his communicator beeps, indicating there's a message. He looks at it, finding it's from Alex. He finds it reads "Get here, NOW!" Abandoning his original plan, he heads for Alex's house, barely avoiding oncoming traffic on the way. He runs in through the door, finding Alex and his guardian, Jack Starbright in the living room, standing in front of a new wide screen television. He looks to Alex with a look of surprise, then notices the web-cam on top of the television. As they look at it, Jack turns it on.

As the screen flickers on, a picture of Cray appears, causing Alex and Highspeed to step back. As they look at Cray with expressions of anger and hate, Cray, who is surprisingly calm, begins _"Ah, Alex Rider. And you must be Highspeed. What a pleasure to meet you. I trust you had a safe journey back from Amsterdam."_ Not interested in small talk, Alex and demands "Where's Sabina? What have you done with her?" Cray, who's still calm, answers _"Well, I guess I could let you see her,"_ and the picture changes to Sabina, looking frightened and confused, standing in the middle of a small room. The picture changes back to Cray, and almost immediately, Highspeed almost shouts "Where's Scarlett?" Cray mocks a puzzled voice _"I don't think..."_ but Highspeed cuts him off, growling "Where...is...Scarlett!?" Cray, looking a little less calm, answers _"I guess you can see her,"_ and the picture shows Scarlett, her long, black hair all over her, lying on a bed, only just starting to wake up. Cray's picture fills the screen again, with him saying _"I think you know what you have to do if you want to see them again. Bring back the flash drive and pen drive you took from me, or else, they both die. If you tell your little friends at MI6 about this, then I'll kill them both. You have till ten o'clock tomorrow,"_ and the image disappears.

Jack, now starting to look worried, says "We can't give him what he wants," and Highspeed replies "We can't let Sabina and Scarlett die either. If I ever get my hands on Cray I'll..." but Alex cuts him off "We can't tell MI6, but we can tell the others. Maybe Shadowspeed could sneak in and help them." Highspeed shakes his head, saying "Who knows where Shadowspeed is. He was given some assignment before me and the others were anywhere near the complex." He activates his com-link, saying "Let's hope I can come up with a plan that'll work"


	8. Deception

As the taxi stopped, Highspeed and Alex stepped out, looking towards the main gate. They saw a rope nearby, presuming it was the door bell. They walked up to it, Highspeed pulling it. Alex noticed Highspeed clutch the rope with anger. _"This is the angriest Highspeed's ever been. Scarlett must really mean a lot to him," _Alex thought to himself. The gate opened, and Highspeed started moving quickly towards the front door, fists clenched and heavy footsteps. As he stepped onto the front step, it suddenly collapsed, causing him to plummet downwards. As he fell, he noticed small ledges along the walls, mostly covered in small spikes. _"Guess Cray wants to rough me up a little before I give him this thing. Let's just see him try,"_ he thought, dodging every ledge as he came to it.

He reached the bottom, greeted by almost total darkness. He looked around, seeing something through the shadows. He started running towards it, hitting what seemed to be a brick wall. As he rubbed where he hit his head, the lights came on, revealing there was a glass wall between him and what he saw. He looked up to see Scarlett, lying there still unconscious from the dart. Highspeed lunged at the glass with a flurry of punches and kicks. As he tried one last time, someone laughed, causing him to turn round. He saw Cray, looking as calm as he did in the message. As he finished laughing, Highspeed lashed out with his fist, falling forward when the Cray turned out to be a hologram. He picked himself of the ground to see "Cray" standing in front of the glass wall.

As Scarlett started to wake up, Cray began _"Highspeed, how nice to meet you in person, in a way. I really wish I could be down there......."_ but Highspeed quickly cuts in "What have you done to Scarlett? If you've hurt her then I'll......." Cray quickly changes the subject _"I understand you have something that belongs to me. If you keep your end of the bargain, then the girl goes free." _Highspeed reaches into his pocket, producing the pen drive. He also produces a tube of glue, planning to fill the device with it. Cray looks in surprise _"What are you......"_ and Highspeed, clenching the device as tightly as possible, replies "It's simple. Let Scarlett walk out of here. She can go to Alex's house and tell us she's there. Once I know she's safe, I'll give you this thing." Cray looks at Highspeed with a confident, almost sinister smile _"Now that would be a good plan. Problem is, I'm not that predictable," _and presses a button. Highspeed looks to Scarlett in horror, seeing a strange cable-like bond around her. It starts to glow, and Cray smiles _"It was an interesting plan, but mine is a little more, oh how shall I put it, shocking,"_ and both of them look to see Scarlett fall in pain.

Highspeed looks in horror as Scarlett begins to get an electric shock from the cable. She tries not to cry out, but the charge increases. Highspeed, eyes starting to water, shouts for it to stop. Cray turns to him, saying _"I knew you'd see it my way," _and the electricity in the cable shuts off, releasing Scarlett. Highspeed throws the device across the floor, allowing a grabber arm to pick it up. As the glass wall lifts, Scarlett runs over to Highspeed, throwing her arms around him. As she begins to cry, Highspeed whispers to her _"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you involved in all this." _As Cray turns to them, he says sarcastically _"Ah, young love. How's about we join your friends Alex and Sabina."_

After a cup of tea and a full back-story on Cray's past and plan, Alex, Sabina, Highspeed and Scarlett were thrown into a small room in Cray's basement. After checking for bugs, everyone managed to sit down, taking advantage of the moment to breathe. Despite finding out about the plan, Highspeed was unusually quiet, barely moving a muscle as Alex went over the plan to Scarlett and Sabina. As he finished, Scarlett was about to comfort Highspeed, but Yassen had opened the door, announcing it was time to go. As they walked past him, they were shown what looked like small tents, but what was really radiation-protection suits. Once they put them on, they were lead to what looked like army vans, taking seats in the back. The vans moved out towards the surprise location, filling everyone with fear of what would happen when they got there.

When they arrived, they found themselves near the airport runways, looking towards an incoming plane. As they looked on, they saw the plane was on fire. Highspeed watched, filled with fear about what would happen next. He heard something over the radio, watching as the plane seemed to become engulfed with flames. He kept watching only to look away when Yassen took them back to the vans. They started moving again, but away from the accident. Instead, they were heading towards Air Force One, the presidential plane. Everyone looked out the back, surprised by how large it was. As they stopped, Cray made his men move out of the vans, sending them into the plane behind Yassen. Highspeed, Scarlett, Sabina and Alex listened as the sound of gunfire rang through the plane.

The remaining five, Cray and the four kids, made their way into the plane, amazed how large the inside was. As they stepped in, Yassen returned, telling Cray that there was no-one alive on-board. Cray then sat down on one of the chairs, a signal to Yassen to make Scarlett and Sabina sit down. Cray got up again, leading Alex and Highspeed through the plane to a computer room. Once there, he took out the flash drive and inserted it into a small slot on the console. As the screen changed, he inserted the pen drive. All the time, he held a small pistol by his side, waiting for Alex or Highspeed to make a move. The screen changed a final time, bringing up two buttons on the console. One said "Launch" while the second read "Abort". Both Alex and Highspeed eyed the button that said abort, not paying attention to what Cray was saying. As Cray finished his operation, he led them back to the main room.

As the three of them returned, they found Yassen standing in a corner, watching the girls with eagle-eyes. Highspeed sat down in a chair next to Scarlett, while Alex sat down next to Sabina. Cray turned to Yassen "Well Mr Gregorovich, you may kill them now." Yassen turned to him, saying calmly "I don't kill children." Cray started to argue, then said calmly "Well I guess if I can't convince you," and a gunshot fired, hitting Yassen in the chest. As he lay there, Cray said coldly "You're fired, Mr Gregorovich."


	9. Sucess at last

As Yassen fell to the ground, Cray turned to the four of them, smiling darkly "I'd like you to meet my other associate. Scorpia warned me you would get in my way Alex, and they knew Yassen would never kill children, so they sent me one of their best." He pointed to a corner where someone was starting to walk forward. To Highspeed, he looked familiar, for his name was Deathwing, and he had a score to settle with Highspeed. He brought his gun close to his face, inspecting it as it gleamed in the cabin light. He looked to Highspeed with a look that made him think of death. As he brought his gun to his side, Highspeed turned rigid, knowing there might be no escape from this. Cray noticed Highspeed was looking less than calm, saying "I see you two have met before. Well, if he has a personal vendetta with you, then how's about we make you suffer a little. Deathwing, let's kill the girls first," and with that, Deathwing aimed right at Scarlett. Cray pointed his gun at Sabina, ready to pull the trigger. As Cray's fingers came pulled the trigger, two unexpected things happened.

The first thing was that Cray's shot had hit Alex, who had jumped in front of the shot. The second thing was that Highspeed, who was almost frozen, had jumped at Deathwing with almost lightning speed. Despite this lightning reaction, Deathwing had moved to the side and had struck Highspeed in the back with the hilt of his gun. Almost immediately, Highspeed was out cold, and Deathwing was carrying him over to the cabin door, ready to throw him out of the plane. Though it wasn't moving fast enough to suck everything out the moment the door was opened, it was moving fast enough to leave Highspeed's body far away from the plane itself, making it look like he was blown away by the jet engines. He opened the door, letting Highspeed fall to the ground. He closed the door, watching Highspeed's body skip along the ground like a stone on the water. He also noticed airport authorities coming after the plane. It would be too late, the plane would be in the air, and the only witness would be lying on the runway dead. He was thinking that it had gone easier than expected considering what problems Highspeed and Alex had caused.

Out on the runway, the authorities were moving too fast to notice Highspeed lying there, looking almost completely broken. Had anyone bothered to check, they would have noticed he was trying to get to his feet, a large cut on his chest, and plenty of smaller ones on his arms and legs. Despite this, he was moving slowly after the plane. Anyone would think he was making a pointless effort to catch the plane, but no-one knew about Highspeed's true speed. He started running, moving faster and faster, despite all his injuries. He was soon moving fast enough to catch up to the authorities, beginning to pass each car as he continued to accelerate. Everyone was looking at him in awe, seeing him just move faster and faster. He was starting to tire, reaching his full speed. He was still too far away from the plane, but still he kept going, feeling something come over him, like a bolt of new found speed and power. He was still moving faster, going beyond what he thought he was capable of. He soon reached the plane, ready to leap to one of the window. He pulled something from his pocket, pressing a small button. He leaped, digging the object into the metal of the plane.

Deathwing looked at the two girls who sat in front of him, ready to kill them if they tried the same "heroics" Highspeed and Alex had pulled. He looked back to Cray, seeing him bring out his gun. He was about to do the same, but there was a tap at one of the windows. As everyone looked to where it came from, they heard something move across the outside of the plane. As they looked to the roof, they heard something from the rear of the plane, only the sound was from the inside. Deathwing moved to the door, pushing it open cautiously. He looked down the corridor, seeing something move towards him. He aimed his gun, but only heard an overconfident voice say "Excuse me madam," and almost got run over as it dashed past him. Everyone looked to where it had stopped, completely awestruck by what they saw. In front of them stood Highspeed, only his hair was almost completely blue, he had spines on his back, and he had a strange, ghostly blue glow. Deathwing reached for his knife, realizing his gun was halfway across the cabin. He threw it, never expecting to see it stop in midair. He saw Highspeed's arm outstretched towards the blade, then noticed Cray had similar problems with Alex, who had been wearing a bullet-proof vest that Smithers had made him. Deathwing was about to grab his gun again, only to see something sticking out of the floor of the cabin beside it. It looked like a dagger, only it had appeared to be made of energy. He looked up, seeing a foot coming down towards him. He dodged the kick, but was blown back by the blast of air that followed. He looked to see someone else he recognised, someone who had unparallel ninja skills. His name was Shadowspeed, and he looked darker than usual. Highspeed also saw him, but didn't even try anything until he saw Cray coming towards him on one of the trolleys. He side-stepped, watching Cray fly out of the door. He looked away as the plane started to fall over. He saw Scarlett standing in front of a chair that was coming towards her. Without thinking, he dashed forward, pushing her away and stopping the chair going any further. He fell on his back as the plane fell onto its side. He watched as everything threatened to fall on his friends, stopping it in mid-air.

Everyone took whatever cover they could, trying to dodge objects that Highspeed couldn't catch. Shadowspeed prepared to finish off Deathwing, noticing something falling towards Sabina. He hesitated, ready to finish off Deathwing and end these problems. He turned towards Sabina, throwing something at what was about to fall on her. The object split in two, falling on either side of her. Shadowspeed shouted to her, trying to be heard over the chaos "You have to hit the abort button to stop the missiles. Hurry!" Sabina dodged falling debris to get to the missile control room, hitting the abort button as hard as she could. Though they couldn't see it, all twenty five of Cray's missiles had exploded in the atmosphere, where they could do no harm to anyone. They had defeated Cray.

After all the chaos of that day, everyone had been congratulated by MI6, and Sabina had said she was leaving for America, as her parents had decided on this after her abduction. She had said farewell to Alex, which had made him want to be alone for a while. Meanwhile, Highspeed had gone to meet Scarlett at the pier to talk about all the things that had happened. Back at home however, Nightshade and Nightbird had noticed that Shadowspeed had spent almost all his time in his room. That evening, Nightshade went to talk to him, wondering what was wrong with him. She had found him lying on his bed, listening to his CD player. He was in the middle of listening to The Chosen One by A2, when Nightshade walked slowly into his room. As she walked over to his bed, she thought to herself _"He only listens to that song when something is seriously wrong."_ She sat down on his bed, about to speak, when he said quickly "I know why you're here and I'm not going to talk about it." Nightshade looked him in the eye, saying gently "If something bad happened on your mission, then you just have to say so. It's just that I hate to see you like this." Shadowspeed simply said "When I say I don't want to talk about it, I mean I don't want to talk about it." Nightshade stood up and prepared to leave, saying as she left "If you don't want to talk about it, then maybe you should listen to the next song." As she closed the door, the song changed to Never Turn Back by Crush 40, and as he lay there, he thought about what the lyrics were saying _"Here I am, made it to, the end of you. Never had a chance while I'm around. And now I'll never turn back, I'll never turn that way. No matter how life tries to face me, I turn the other way. Now and then, my head starts to spin, but I'll never turn back again," _and almost smiled as the music filled the room.

* * *

**The continuation of this story will be called "Ancient within". I'll also put up a story on what Shadowspeed's assignment was, as it plays a part in the main series. Look forward to that and please review.**


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